the native is commanded in a kind of jargon based on the Bangala
dialect. The Danish captain of a Congo steamer thus as a rule, speaks,
besides his own language, English, French and Bangala and can make
himself understood in all.

On pay day, rolls of brass wire are cut up into mitakos, which become
longer the higher one travels up the river, this arrangement having been
introduced by Stanley and never altered. Here the mitako is 28
centimetres long and it is worth 5 cents, while at Basoko it is 40
centimetres long and worth 10 cents. The native crew are paid three
mitakos for their food per day which would purchase twice as much
kwanga as they could possibly eat. The capitas and wheelman are also
paid monthly wages which vary with the nature of their work.

By July 28th we have passed through the Channel into a portion of the
river which is very wide and has the appearance of a great lake studded
with islands. The banks are invisible, for the country here is
absolutely flat and continues so for many hundreds of miles until the
Province Orientale is reached. Between these islands, which are usually
well wooded, we pass slowly up the river, for the current is still
strong although the surface of the water appears absolutely still and
the light glares as from a mirror. Some of the islands are however, only
covered with grass and a herd of buffaloes on one come charging down to
the river to drink. Unfortunately one of the passengers fires a kind of
saloon rifle, which might possibly have killed a rabbit at twenty yards,
and frightens them back. This is a great pity, for if we had had time,
we could easily have bagged one or two and had some fresh beef for
dinner.

At midday on the 29th we reach Mopolenga and stop for wood. The land in